External Files List in Hyperlinks

Introduction

We have seen that we can open and work with external data sources, dBase Tables, Excel Databases, and AS400 (iSeries) tables directly without linking them permanently to MS Access, as demonstrated in earlier articles.

In this tutorial, we will explore a different kind of external access — working with files on your disk, regardless of their type (Word documents, Excel workbooks, PDFs, images, etc.), and displaying them on an Access Form as clickable hyperlinks that open in their respective default applications.

To achieve this, we will:

1. Browse and select files from Disk using the Common Dialog Control (the File Browser).

2. Store the file paths in a Table for easy retrieval.

3. Display the list of files as hyperlinks on a Form.

4. Open each file in its associated program (Word, Excel, Adobe Reader, etc.) simply by clicking the hyperlink.

This approach is useful in scenarios such as:

• Managing project-related documents from within Access.

• Providing quick access to scanned images or PDFs attached to records.

• Creating document libraries, training materials, or archives where Access acts as a front-end to organize and launch files efficiently.

Before diving into the implementation, let us first understand how the Common Dialog Control (File Picker) works and how we can use it to browse and select files dynamically.

• Opening External Data Sources
• Opening dBase Files Directly
• Display Excel Value Directly on Form
• Opening an Excel Database Directly
• Database Connection String Properties
• Access Live Data in Excel
• Access Live Data in Excel-2
• Source ConnectStr Property and ODBC

But all of them fall into only one category, data files.

Designing the Files List Form.

To answer the above queries, we will create a Form with a Datasheet Sub-Form and with a few simple controls to take a listing of all frequently used files of your choice (Text Files, Word Files, Excel Files, or  Files of all Types) from the Disk and display them in a list of Hyperlinks. When you like to open and work with a file in its parent Application, simply click on the hyperlink to select and open the file.  An Image of the sample Form is given below:



Right-click to open Large Image in New Tab/Window.

Finding Files in Folders

Click the Create File Links button to open the File Browser (the Common Dialog Control). Browse to locate your desired files; you may select one or more, and click OK to bring their references into the List Control as clickable Hyperlinks.

The File Path Name for each file is displayed in the adjacent control to the right of the hyperlink. This makes it easy to identify the location of frequently used files such as Excel workbooks, Word documents, PDFs, or any other file type you’ve linked.

This entire process takes only a few mouse clicks, something you’re likely to do many times throughout the day. You can also import files in batches, and each selection will be added automatically to the directory-list table, building your library of linked documents.

The Data Sheet Form Design.

The Form has a simple design, as shown in the image above. The following are the main elements of the design.

1. A Table: DirectoryList with two Fields: 1. FileLinks with data type Hyperlink. 2. Path with a Text data type to store the file’s complete path name.

2. The Datasheet Form was created in the above Table with the name FilesListing_Sub.

3. The Main Form Files Listing with the Datasheet Form inserted as a Sub-Form that occupies the major part of the design.

4. A Command Button (Name: cmdFileDialog) with the Caption Create File Links runs the Common Dialog Control to browse and select files from the Disk and insert them as Hyperlinks in the FileLinks Field of the Table.

5. The Field Path will be updated with the location address of the selected files.

6. The Unbound Text Box below will show the Current Project Path as the default location when the File Dialog is open.

7. The Command Button with the name cmdDelAll, and the Caption Delete All Links,  clicks to delete all file links from the tables.

8. The Command Button with the name cmdDelLink and the Caption Delete One Link, clicks to delete the selected hyperlink item from the List.  You can manually delete one or more Links, select them by holding the Shift key down and clicking on the left border of items next to each other, and press the DELETE Key.

9. Command Button with the Caption Delete File on Disk and the name cmdDelFile deletes the selected Link, followed by physically deleting the file on disk.  So be careful with this option. Only one File can be deleted at a time.  Use this option with caution; once the file is deleted from the disk, it cannot be reversed.  Click on the left border of a link to select it, and click on the Delete File on Disk.
   

Managing the Files List

The Files' List is created as Hyperlinks in the target table named DirectoryList. Each record in this table consists of the file’s display name and its corresponding full path stored as a valid hyperlink reference.

New links can be added to the list at any time, and the incoming links are automatically appended to the existing records without overwriting previous entries. Manual data entry or direct editing of hyperlinks through the Form is not allowed, ensuring that the hyperlink structure remains intact.

If you wish to make experimental changes, open the DirectoryList table directly in Datasheet View and modify it there. However, this is not recommended, since any accidental changes to the Hyperlink Value Segments (the visible text, the actual address, or the optional sub-address) may break the link or cause it to open incorrectly.

If you would like to know more about the Hyperlink value Segments (four segments) and what they do, go to the link Open Forms with Hyperlinks in ListBox.

Download the sample database from the bottom of this page and try it out before you design one of your own to understand how it works.

You can easily implement this in your various Projects by simply importing the Forms and the Table into your Projects if required. The demo database is an Access 2007 Version file.

The Main Form Class Module Code

The VBA Code, which runs behind the Main Form Files Listing, is listed below for info.

Option Compare Database
Option Explicit
Dim strpath As String

Private Sub cmdClose_Click()
DoCmd.Close acForm, Me.Name
End Sub

Private Sub cmdDelFile_Click()
On Error GoTo cmdDelFile_Click_Err
Dim db As DAO.Database, rst As DAO.Recordset
Dim strFile As String

strFile = Me.DirectoryList.Form!Path
Set db = CurrentDb
Set rst = db.OpenRecordset("DirectoryList", dbOpenDynaset)
rst.FindFirst "Path = '" & strFile & "'"
If Not rst.NoMatch Then
If MsgBox("File: " & strFile & vbCr & "DELETE from Disk?", _
vbQuestion + vbYesNo, "cmdDelFile_Click") = vbYes Then
   If MsgBox("Are you sure you want to Delete" & vbCr _
   & rst!Path & " File from DISK?", vbCritical + vbYesNo, "cmdDelFile_Click()") = vbNo Then
    GoTo cmdDelFile_Click_Exit
   End If
    rst.Delete
    rst.Requery
    Me.DirectoryList.Form.Requery
    If Len(Dir(strFile)) > 0 Then
    Kill strFile
    MsgBox "File: " & strFile & " Deleted."
    Else
      MsgBox "File: " & strFile & vbCr & "Not Found on Disk!"
    End If
End If
Else
    MsgBox "File: " & strFile & " Not Found!!"
End If

cmdDelFile_Click_Exit:
rst.Close
Set rst = Nothing
Set db = Nothing
Exit Sub

cmdDelFile_Click_Err:
MsgBox Err & " : " & Err.Description, , "cmdDelFile_Click()"
Resume cmdDelFile_Click_Exit
End Sub

Private Sub cmdHelp_Click()
DoCmd.OpenForm "Help", acNormal
End Sub

Private Sub Form_Load()
'strpath = CurrentProject.Path & "\*.*"
On Error GoTo Form_Load_Err
GetProperty
strpath = Me!PathName

Form_Load_Exit:
Exit Sub

Form_Load_Err:
MsgBox Err & " : " & Err.Description, , "Form_Load()"
Resume Form_Load_Exit
End Sub

Private Sub cmdDelLink_Click()
On Error GoTo cmdDelLink_Click_Err
Dim db As DAO.Database, rst As DAO.Recordset
Dim strFile As String

strFile = Me.DirectoryList.Form!Path
Set db = CurrentDb
Set rst = db.OpenRecordset("DirectoryList", dbOpenDynaset)
rst.FindFirst "Path = '" & strFile & "'"
If Not rst.NoMatch Then
If MsgBox("Link: " & strFile & vbCr & "DELETE from above List?", _
vbQuestion + vbYesNo, "cmddelLink_Click()") = vbYes Then
    rst.Delete
    rst.Requery
    Me.DirectoryList.Form.Requery
    MsgBox "File Link: " & strFile & " Deleted."
End If
Else
    MsgBox "Link: " & strFile & " Not Found!!"
End If
rst.Close
Set rst = Nothing
Set db = Nothing

cmdDelLink_Click_Exit:
Exit Sub

cmdDelLink_Click_Err:
MsgBox Err & " : " & Err.Description, , "cmdDelLink_Click()"
Resume cmdDelLink_Click_Exit

End Sub

Private Sub cmdFileDialog_Click()
On Error GoTo cmdFileDialog_Click_Err
'Requires reference to Microsoft Office 12.0 Object Library.
Dim db As DAO.Database, rst As DAO.Recordset
   Dim fDialog As Office.FileDialog
   Dim varFile As Variant
Dim strfiles As String
   'Clear listbox contents.
   'Me.FileList.RowSource = ""

   'Set up the File Dialog.
   Set fDialog = Application.FileDialog(msoFileDialogFilePicker)
   With fDialog
      'Allow user to make multiple selections in dialog box.
      .AllowMultiSelect = True
      .InitialFileName = strpath
            
      'Set the title of the dialog box.
      .Title = "Please select one or more files"

      'Clear out the current filters, and add our own.
      .Filters.Clear
      .Filters.Add "All Files", "*.*"
      .Filters.Add "Access Databases", "*.mdb; *.accdb"
      .Filters.Add "Access Projects", "*.adp"
      .Filters.Add "Excel WorkBooks", "*.xlsx; *.xls; *.xml"
      .Filters.Add "Word Documents", "*.docx; *.doc"

      'Show the dialog box. If the .Show method returns True, the
      'user picked at least one file. If the .Show method returns
      'False, the user clicked Cancel.
      If .Show = True Then
    'i = .FoundFiles.Count
    'MsgBox "File found = " & .FoundFiles.Count
    'DoCmd.SetWarnings False
    'DoCmd.RunSQL "DELETE DirectoryList.* FROM DirectoryList;"
    'DoCmd.SetWarnings True
    Set db = CurrentDb
    Set rst = db.OpenRecordset("DirectoryList", dbOpenDynaset)
    'For i = 1 To .FoundFiles.Count
        For Each varFile In .SelectedItems
        rst.AddNew
        strfiles = Mid(varFile, InStrRev(varFile, "\") + 1)
        strfiles = strfiles & "#" & varFile & "##Click"
        rst![FileLinks] = strfiles
        rst![Path] = varFile
        rst.Update
    Next
Me.DirectoryList.Form.Requery
         'Loop through each file selected and add it to the list box.
         'For Each varFile In .SelectedItems
            'Me.FileList.AddItem varFile
         'Next
      Else
         MsgBox "You clicked Cancel in the file dialog box."
      End If
   End With

cmdFileDialog_Click_Exit:
Exit Sub

cmdFileDialog_Click_Err:
MsgBox Err & " : " & Err.Description, , "cmdFileDialog_Click()"
Resume cmdFileDialog_Click_Exit
End Sub

Private Sub Form_Unload(Cancel As Integer)
If Len(strpath) = 0 Then
  strpath = "C:\My Documents\*.*"
End If
SetProperty
End Sub

Private Sub PathName_AfterUpdate()
'On Error GoTo PathName_AfterUpdate_Err
Dim str_path As String, i As Long
Dim test As String

    Me.Refresh
    str_path = Me!PathName
    i = InStrRev(str_path, "\")
    str_path = Left(str_path, i) & "*.*"
    strpath = str_path
    
    test = Dir(strpath)
    If Len(test) = 0 Then
        MsgBox "Invalid PathName: " & strpath
        strpath = CurrentProject.Path & "\*.*"
        Me.PathName = str_path
        Me.Refresh
        Exit Sub
    End If
    Me.PathName = strpath
    Me.Refresh
    
PathName_AfterUpdate_Exit:
Exit Sub

PathName_AfterUpdate_Err:
MsgBox Err & " : " & Err.Description, , "PathName_AfterUpdate()"
Resume PathName_AfterUpdate_Exit
End Sub

Private Function GetProperty() As String
On Error GoTo GetProperty_Err
Dim doc As DAO.Document
Dim db As DAO.Database
Dim prp As DAO.Property
Dim strLoc As String

Set db = CurrentDb
Set doc = db.Containers("Forms").Documents("FilesListing")
strLoc = doc.Properties("defaultpath").Value
If Len(strLoc) = 0 Then
   strLoc = CurrentProject.Path & "\*.*"
End If

strpath = strLoc
Me!PathName = strpath
Me.Refresh

GetProperty_Exit:
Exit Function

GetProperty_Err:
MsgBox Err & " : " & Err.Description, , "GetProperty()"
Resume GetProperty_Exit
End Function


Private Function SetProperty() As String
On Error GoTo SetProperty_Err
Dim doc As DAO.Document
Dim db As DAO.Database
Dim prp As DAO.Property
Dim strLoc As String

Set db = CurrentDb
Set doc = db.Containers("Forms").Documents("FilesListing")
strLoc = Me!PathName
If Len(strLoc) = 0 Then
    strLoc = CurrentProject.Path & "\*.*"
End If
doc.Properties("defaultpath").Value = strLoc

SetProperty_Exit:
Exit Function

SetProperty_Err:
MsgBox Err & " : " & Err.Description, , "SetProperty()"
Resume SetProperty_Exit
End Function

Download Demo Database

Download Demo DirListing2K1.zip

• Event Trapping & Summary on Datasheet
• Sum() Min() Max() ParamArray
• Text Box and Label Inner Margins
• Multiple Parameters for Query
• Form Menu Bars and Toolbars